Page 48 of More than Need

“What if it hadn’t been?” he shot back. Damn, she sounded even worse in person than she had over the phone. Did he need a hazmat suit?

“I would have told you to take whatever you wanted as long as you got me the Soothers that I forgot when I was up earlier.”

“Who couldn’t resist that kind of invitation?” Gideon teased.

Someone would have to be keen to wade through this mess to find something worth stealing. Her lounge looked like a tornado had come through it and doubled back. If tornadoes left behindtissues, dirty dishes, and the cloying smell of Vicks VapoRub, which Gideon had never been a fan of.

He spotted Ange’s hair on the couch, peeking out from a cocoon of blankets. Her eyes and nose poked out too. “Don’t come too close.”

“I haven’t been afraid of girl cooties since high school.” Gideon shoved the ice cream he’d brought with him into the freezer and put the soup container in the microwave, turning it on before going back into the lounge.

“Isn’t that a primary school thing? You were still afraid of them in high school?” Ange asked. “I don’t remember that. They loved you.”

“High school girls are way more terrifying than primary school girls.” He would die on that hill. “That’s why I dated boys,” he said with a cheeky grin.

“You dated two, and they were both losers, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves. What did Lucia ever see in you?”

“I have no idea. Guess she finally came to her senses.” He leaned over, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead. “Have you checked your temperature lately?”

“It’s a bit high but not so bad. I have medicine.” A manicured finger appeared, pointing at the cold-and-flu bottle on the coffee table, surrounded by the mess. It slipped back into her cocoon.

“Such a slob,” he said with a “tut-tut.” He reached over and grabbed it, turning it over so he could read the instructions. “Let me get you some food, and then you can have some more.”

He grabbed the letters on his way back to the kitchen and dumped them on the counter next to the fruit bowl. He put some of the soup in a mug so she could sip it and not have to worry about a spoon, and he grabbed a plastic bag so he could clear off some of the coffee table.

He made sure she had proper hold of the chicken noodle soup before he got rid of all of the rubbish and stacked the dishes, sitting them in the sink to be washed later.

“Scoot up,” he said, nudging her legs.

He measured out the right amount of liquid and made her drink it before she started on her soup. He’d shuffle her back to her bed before he left; she’d get a much better sleep in her room than out here. And she couldn’t watch weird daytime TV in there. If he got one more text message about it, he’d go insane.

“So,” he said into the silence as she ate. “I have a confession to make.”

Ange stared suspiciously as she sipped at her soup. “What did you do?”

“Why do you assume I did something?”

“Why else would you need to confess? Is this personal or professional? If this is about that idiot lawyer Bradley, I told you I’d deal with him when I got back. If he called you, harassing you about his case, I’m gonna shove my foot so far up his—”

“You have tiny feet, how is that a deterrent?” The pain-in-their-ass prosecutor hadn’t tried to contact him, which Gideon could only be grateful for. Though if they were serious about damaging him, he’d pick something bigger than her foot.

“I can make it hurt,” she promised darkly before erupting into a sneezing fit accompanied by painful groans.

Gideon wisely did not ask further questions. Instead, he handed her some tissues and said, “At least wait until you can breathe properly again. I’ll even hold him for you.”

He waited until she finished blowing her nose before he followed up with, “I might have slept with our boss.”

Ange paused. She frowned, dropping the tissues into the makeshift bin beside the couch that Gideon had left there. She let out a weird giggle snort. “Youmighthave, or you did?”

“Might have is maybe pushing the truth a bit. We definitely slept together.” He could still hear those deep whispers in his ear.Are you going to be good for me?When Riley had called him a good boy, it had done things to him that he hadn’t expected. Not a direction he’d ever gone in sex before. Lucia had been more dominant than him, but not likethat.

“What thefuck? Gid, please tell me you’re joking.”

Gideon couldn’t say, “I wish I was.” He didn’t wish that. It had been reckless, and stupid, and there were still so many ways it could go wrong for them, but he didn’t regret it. The things that Dawson and Riley made him feel? No, he wouldn’t take it back even if he could.

“Just to clarify: we’re talking about Riley Sinclair?”

“Yes,” Gideon said slowly. Who else would they be talking about? They rarely had to deal with anyone above Riley; that’s why they had Riley in the first place. He dealt with the political bullshit so they could focus on their jobs.

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